The advent of social networking and ubiquitous wireless data networks allows a user of the social network to remotely retrieve an enormous amount of profile data for his or her contacts, or friends, on the social network with little to no latency. Until relatively recently, accessing wireless data through a mobile carrier's packet-switched network while receiving a call over their circuit-switched network was impossible; however, technological advancements have made simultaneous wireless voice and data calls possible. Traditional directory service-based caller ID systems lack access to important data that is available on the social networking system. Furthermore, directory-based caller ID systems, even having access to profile data, have no means for differentiating whom to display profile information, nor any means of differentiating what profile data is relevant to a user. Typically, users have only a brief amount of time to read caller ID data before deciding whether to answer the call.
The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.